1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mushroom growing and more especially to the commercial growing of cultivated mushrooms, that is the species agaricus bisporous and agaricus bitorquis, and any other edible fungi which are grown on a layer of casing medium over compost.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cultivated mushrooms are usually grown on large trays containing compost covered with a layer of casing medium, the trays being mounted horizontally in growing areas under controlled growing conditions while mycelium, which is mixed into the compost before the compost is packed into the trays, grows throughout the compost, and while mushrooms then grow on the horizontal surface of the layer of casing medium on the compost.
Throughout the growing process the top surface of the casing medium has to be watered, usually by a spray and this wets the mushroom caps as they grow. This wetting can lead to bacterial blotch disease. Mushrooms are gathered selectively by pickers who lean over the trays and cut selected mushrooms and convey them by hand into boxes at the sides of the trays. Some of the caps necessarily become damaged during the picking operation.
In order to find the solution to the problem of avoiding wetting the mushroom caps as they grow, and to minimise the handling of the mushrooms as they are picked; ways of growing mushrooms have been sought in which the mushroom caps are kept dry and damage to the mushroom caps during picking is reduced.